Craft cocktails – those artful, mixologist-created drinks that are often a lure at chic bars and restaurants – are now finding their way into the airline industry, too.

As of mid-January, for example, Virgin Atlantic Upper Class fliers departing from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey can head to the airline’s Clubhouse, the lounge for Upper Class fliers, to imbibe cocktails courtesy of the popular Cuban-inspired New York City bar BlackTail. There’s the Havana Night, a combination of gin, lime juice, cane syrup, mint and bitters; the BlackTail Daiquiri, made of white rum, lime juice and cane syrup; and four others on the menu.

The collaboration is part of Virgin Atlantic’s new program to showcase craft cocktails from trendsetting local bars in its Clubhouses. Besides the one at Newark, the airline has similar partnerships at four other Clubhouses including the one in San Francisco International Airport where travellers can sip clever combinations from the pirate-themed bar Smuggler’s Cove in the city.

Virgin Atlantic is paying attention to craft cocktails because they are having a moment, said Mark Murphy, the food and beverage manager for the Clubhouses. “We try to be a brand associated with edginess and coolness, and craft cocktails are very cool,” he said.

U.S. carriers are also getting into the craft cocktail game. United Airlines recently introduced more than 20 cocktails in its new United Polaris lounges, reserved for United Polaris business and first-class fliers as well as international business and first-class fliers on Star Alliance partner airlines.

Here, passengers can order cocktails designed by notable mixologists like Jason Kosmas, the co-founder of the New York City cocktail bar Employees Only, and Adam Seger, the head mixologist at the Tuck Room, a bar at Theaters Fulton Market in New York City, who has created the Aperol Orange Spritz, which includes Aperol, blood orange and prosecco.

United serves a smaller roster of cocktails on its planes. On flights within North America, for example, passengers can order a higher-end version of the traditional Moscow Mule made with small-batch vodka, ginger beer, lime juice and cane sugar; the drinks are free in business class and $9.99 each for economy passengers.

Delta Air Lines offers in-flight cocktails, too, and the choices (usually three or four) change depending on the region and season, said Beatriz Sims, the airline’s onboard general manager for food and drinks.

“We try to connect with our customers at a local level by tailoring our cocktail options to the routes they’re flying and also have ones related to specific events,” she said.

Last fall, for instance, some domestic and international routes featured three Jack Daniel’s cocktails in honour of the 150th anniversary of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery; and last summer, all North American routes had the Southern Lemonade, made with vodka and lemonade. Sims said that Delta had invested in training its flight attendants on making the specialty drinks, which are free for all passengers on international routes and $8 for economy passengers on domestic flights.

Elsewhere in the skies, passengers can look for specialty cocktails onboard Emirates, where the breakfast martini — a recipe with gin, marmalade, Cointreau and orange — is one of more than half-dozen options in business and first class. On JetBlue, the signature cocktail for Mint, the airline’s premium class, is the Mint, a mix of honey-infused limeade and mint, with vodka optional; and Air France takes the star barman Colin Field, from Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris hotel, onboard select flights where he sets up a cocktail bar for business and first-class fliers and serves his famous cocktails.

According to Todd Bliwise, the owner of the New York City travel agency An Avenue Apart and an airline specialist, the recent focus on creative cocktails is a shift from the last decade when carriers played up their high-end wines and spirits.

“These cocktails are a way for airlines to add some spice to their same-old drink choices and become a conversation topic because their ingredients are fun to discuss,” he said.

From the perspective of the trendy bars, teaming with some of these airlines to take their drinks to fliers is an opportunity to make air travel more enjoyable. As Jack McGarry, a managing partner at BlackTail, put it: “We have a good time designing these cocktails, so if we can bring a little bit of that good time to a new set of customers, why not do it?”